Means for moving shipper containers off of and onto a road vehicle



July 2, 1963 w. MORRISON 3,

MEANS FOR MOVING SHIPPER CONTAINERS OFF OF AND ONTO A ROAD VEHICLE 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 30, 1961 INVENTOR. Wu 1 A/?0 A. Make/5'0 BYfinekzegfl wrze I4rrQ/PNEYS Q HQ July 2, 1963 w. MORRISON MEANS FORMOVING SHIPPER CONTAINERS OFF OF AND ONTO A ROAD VEHICLE 3 Sheets-Sheet2 Filed Jan. 30, 1961 x R M 2km m m: W 6 I M a Z M; M 0% ll Q Q 1 July2, 1963 w. L. MORRISON 3,

MEANS FOR MOVING SHIPPER CONTAINERS OFF OF AND ONTO A ROAD VEHICLE FiledJan. 30. 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INV EN TOR. Mama Z. Mme/ea BY memsmmkmeAme/vars ilnite Etates ats 3,095389 MEANS FOR MOVlNG SHIPPER CONTAINERSOFF OF AND ONTO A ROAD VEHICLE Willard L. Morrison, Lake Forest, llL,assignor to Liqnefreeze Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation ofNew York Filed Jan. 30, 1961, Ser. No. 85,673 1 Claim. (Q1. 214-85) Thisinvention relates to improvements in method and apparatus for handlingand shipping frozen food and the like.

An object of this invention is to provide a means for removably mountinga shipping container in a stabilized position on a transport vehicle andit is a related object to provide means for releasably latching theshipping container in its stabilized position on the vehicle.

Other objects will appear from time to time in the course of thespecification and claim.

The invention is illustrated diagrammatically in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein- FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a road vehicleembodying the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a section along the line 2-2 of FIG- URE 1 showing thevehicle alongside a dock for loading and unloading;

FIGURE 3 is a section along the line 33 of FIG- URE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a section on an enlarged scale of a modified form similar tothe section of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a section along the line 55 of FIG- URE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a section similar to FIGURE 4 of a modified form;

FIGURE 7 is a section along the line 7-7 of FIG- URE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a section with parts omitted along the line 88 of FIGURE 6.

Like parts are indicated by like characters throughout the specificationand drawings.

The trailer 1 carries transversely thereof a plurality of track channels2 extending across the vehicle frame. The track channels have as shownat 3 at each end depressions or pockets which are penetrated by therollers 4 on the shipper container box 5. Pivoted on the vehicle frameat both ends of the transverse track channels are bridge channels 6which may interlock as at 7 with a dock or other vehicle 8. The cable 9may be hooked to the container and drawn by a winch 16 or any othersuitable source of power to cause the rollers 4 to lift out of thepockets 3 and travel along the track 2 and bridge 6 onto the dock orother vehicle when the bridge may be raised to the position shown in theleft hand side of FIGURE 2 for the vehicle to move from its unloadingpoint.

In the modified form shown in FIGURE 4 instead of the two grooves andthe rollers, I provide for the track 11 a depression or pocket 12 to beengaged by the skid 13 on the underside of the vehicle so that both inthe form shown in FIGURE 2 and that shown in FIGURE 4 movement of thecontainer along the track cannot take place unless the skid or therollers move upwardly to clear the pocket 3 or 12.

The bridge members 6 and 2 function, one to serve as a bridge as shownin FIGURE 2 and the other to serve as a lock to hold the container downto prevent separation of the roller 4 and pocket 3 or skid 13 and pocket12. When so held down, it is impossible for the container to movelaterally across the truck off the track.

Referring especially to FIGURE 4, it will be noted that the bridge 6 ispivoted at 14 on a track 15. The track 15 contains a pocket 16 in whichis a spring detent 17 pressed by spring 18 into engagement with thebridge 6 as indi- "ice I cated in FIGURE 5. The flange 19 on bridge 6overlies the lug 20 on the container, when the bridge is in the verticalposition. The bridge is held in a vertical position by the detent 17.There is no load on the bridge tending to rotate it as a result ofpressure from the container because the container cannot move laterallyalong the track without rising and any tendency for it to rise from thetrack is resisted by the locking efiect of flange 19 and lug 20.

In the modification illustrated in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, the bridge 6 isprovided with an elongate slot 22 in which the supporting pivot pin 21,fixed to the track 11, is slidably received to be disposed in the innerend of the slot when the bridge is in lowered position, as illustratedto the left in FIG. 6, and in the upper end when the bridge is in raisedposition, as illustrated to the right in FIG. 6. When in raisedposition, the lower end of the slot 22 is in lengthwise alignment with alocking pin 24 which is shiftable into and out of the aligned slot tolock the bridge in raised position when inserted in the slot and to freethe bridge for rocking movement to and from lowered position whenwithdrawn from the slot. A ring and groove is provided in the bridge tohold the pin in retracted position.

I have illustrated a simple winch for the purpose of moving thecontainer ofi the vehicle. Any suitable type of winch or powersourcecable, push bar or the likemay be used to move the container ofiof or onto the vehicle. Such means form no part of the present inventionand are not further illustrated. The essential element in this inventionis that a relatively light and small shipper container may be moved ontoand off a vehicle which carries it along fixed bridge elements whichserve at one time as part of the locking means to hold the container onthe vehicle and at another time serve as they interlock with the dock orother vehicle to form a positive positioning connection between thevehicle and the dock so that movement across the space between them canbe easy and and safe.

The bridge member consists in holding the container in position on thevehicle by positively preventing vertical movement of the container withrespect to the track on which it is supported. Since the vehicleinterlocks with the track and cannot move longitudinally thereof withoutfirst rising above the track, a positive double action locking effect isobtained by the use of the interlocking of the channel and track on onehand and the interlocking of the container and bridge member on theother hand.

I claim:

In the combination of a transport vehicle and insulated shippingcontainers of substantial dimension and weight, means for removablymounting said shipping containers in a stabilized position of use onsaid transport vehicle, including means for the displacement of saidcontainers into and out of said stabilized position onto and off of saidtransport vehicle, comprising longitudinally spaced apart tracks whichextend laterally across a substantially flat horizontally disposed topsurface of the transport vehicle, depressions in corresponding portionsof said tracks spaced inwardly from the lateral edges thereof, portionsspaced from the lateral edges of the containers extending downwardlyfrom the bottom side of said containers for receipt in said depressionsin said tracks when the containers are in position of use on saidtransport vehicle thereby releasably to hold the containers in positionof use on the transport vehicle, bridge members laterally aligned withthe tracks and pivotally mounted on each side thereof for rockingmove-ment between a raised position extending vertically upwardly fromthe lateral edges of the tracks to a lowered position extendinglaterally horizontally as a continuation of said tracks with the uppersurface of said lowered bridge member substantially flush with thesurface of said tracks to form an extension thereof, and means forreleasably latching said bridge member in raised position to blockmovement of thecontainers laterally relative to the supporting trackcomprising an elongate slot in the inner end portion of the bridgemember, a pin fixed to the track and extending through the slotpivotally to support the track'for rocking movement between raised andlowered positions; and another pin spaced below-the first pin andlongitudinally aligned with the slot'when the bridge is in raisedposition, said other pin being mounted for shifting movement into andout 4 V of the slot whereby the pivot pin and the other pin retain thebridge in raised position When the latter as inserted in the slot andwhereby the bridge is free for rocking movement about the pivot pin whenthe other pin is Withdrawn from the slot, and means for releasablyholding the other pin in retracted position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,486,046 Smith Mar. 4, 1924 1,860,747 McLaughlin May 31, 1932 1,921,605

Canfield' Aug. 8, 1933

